Sfarafjam  lincoln'g 
to  €tom*ton  in  I860 


f)rr srutf &  mitt)  ttie  compliment^  of 

Citp  Rational  panfe 

Cbantfton,  Illinois    ::    1914 


Abraham  Lincoln's  Visit  to 
Evanston  in  1860 


By 

J.  Seymour  Currey 

President  of  the  Evanston  Historical  Society 


EVANSTON 

CITY  NATIONAL  BANK 
1914 


Courier,/  oj  the  Illinois  Staff  Historical  Society 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  New  York  by  Brady,  at  the  time  of  the  speech  at 
Cooper  Institute,  in  1860. 


,  3 


Htncoln'*  #teit  to  Cbanston 
in  I860 


The  purpose  of  this  sketch  is  to  describe  the  visit  made  by  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  Evanston  in  1860,  including  such  particulars  as  appear  to 
be  worthy  of  permanent  record.  This  visit,  brief  as  it  was,  forms  one 
of  the  most  cherished  episodes  of  our  history. 

Many  of  the  particulars  have  been  obtained  from  those  who  were 
living  in  Evanston  at  the  time,  and  who  were  present  at  the  informal 
reception  given  to  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  evening  of  his  one  night's  stay 
in  our  town.  Some  of  these  recollections  have  already  appeared  in  print 
at  different  times,  but  with  additions  derived  from  recent  interviews 
and  correspondence  with  those  who  were  participants  in  the  events  re- 
ferred to,  are  here  brought  together  and  formed  into  a  connected 
account. 

In  order  to  provide  a  proper  perspective  and  background  to  the  in- 
cidents related  in  this  account,  it  seems  desirable  to  describe  briefly  the 
state  of  the  country  at  the  period  in  which  they  occurred  and  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  connection  with  the  events  of  that  time,  as  well  as  some  ac- 
count of  Evanston  as  it  was  in  the  year  mentioned. 

STIRRING  EVENTS  OF  THE  TIME 

During  the  early  months  of  1860,  the  Republican  party,  which  some 
three  years  before  had  suffered  defeat  in  its  first  presidential  campaign 
under  the  leadership  of  John  C.  Fremont,  was  anxiously  considering 
who  should  be  selected  as  the  standard  bearer  in  the  approaching  cam- 
paign. It  was  generally  thought  that  the  convention  to  be  held  in  the 
following  May  would  name  William  H.  Seward  as  the  candidate.  The 
famous  Lincoln  and  Douglas  debates  had  taken  place  in  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1858,  and  had  given  a  national  reputation  to  Lincoln,  whose  fame 
had  heretofore  been  confined  to  his  own  state.  The  speech  he  made  at 
Cooper  Institute  in  New  York,  February  27,  1860,  had  caused  his  name 
to  be  frequently  mentioned  as  a  possible  presidential  candidate.  Under 
Buchanan's  weak  and  vacillating  administration  the  arrogance  and  hos- 
tility of  the  southern  states  had  become  more  pronounced,  and  the  peo- 
ple of  the  north  found  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  clear  cut  statements  the  best 
expression  of  the  burning  issues  of  the  day. 

THE  "SAND  BAR"  CASE 

It  was  soon  after  Mr.  Lincoln's  return  from  the  East  that  he  spent 
a  week  or  more  in  Chicago  in  attendance  upon  the  United  States  Dis- 
trict Court  as  one  of  the  counsel  for  the  defendants  in  the  "Sand  Bar" 
case,  referred  to  in  the  papers  of  the  time  as  "one  of  the  most  notable 

Page  Three 


trials  in  the  annals  of  our  courts."*     It  was  just  after  the  conclusion  of 
this  case  that  Mr.  Lincoln  made  his  visit  to  Evanston. 

A  few  days  previously  he  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  address  the 
citizens  of  Waukegan  on  political  topics,  upon  which  the  Chicago  Press 
and  Tribune,  one  of  his  staunch  friends  and  supporters,  remarked : 
"The  announcement  will  of  course  bring  together  one  of  the  largest 
crowds  that  Waukegan  can  furnish." 

EVANSTON  ASSUMING  IMPORTANCE 

At  that  time  Evanston  was  a  village  of  some  twelve  hundred  inhab- 
itants and  was  developing  a  boom  as  a  suburb  of  Chicago.  An  article 
in  the  paper  just  referred  to,  which  appeared  about  this  time,  spoke  of 
Evanston  as  having  the  handsomest  residences  and  the  best  situation  of 
any  town  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago,  and  the  writer  predicted  that  be- 
tween the  two  places  would  be  built  up  a  continuous  line  of  stores  and 
residences.  The  Chicago  and  Milwaukee  railroad,  afterwards  known 
as  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  railway,  had  been  open  for  six  years. 
There  was  only  a  single  track  and  trains  passed  each  other  at  sidings 
located  at  different  stations  on  the  line.  Leaving  the  terminal  station 
at  the  corner  of  Kinzie  and  Canal  sterets,  in  Chicago,  the  stations  were : 
Clybourn  Junction,  Belle  Plaine  (Cuyler),  Chittenden  (Rosehill),  and 
Calvary.  Ravenswood  and  Rogers  Park  had  no  existence  at  that  time. 
The  village  of  Bowmanville  lay  a  mile  west  of  Rosehill.  All  of  these 
places  except  Bowmanville  had  come  into  existence  with  the  opening  of 
the  railroad,  and  Evanston  itself  had  borne  that  name  only  some  six 
years,  though  under  older  names  it  could  claim  a  greater  antiquity. 

BECOMES  A  SEAT  OF  LEARNING 

The  Northwestern  University  had  been  established  in  Evanston  in 
the  same  year  that  the  railroad  was  opened,  namely,  in  1854,  though  its 
first  building  had  not  been  completed  until  the  following  year.  The 
University  from  the  beginning  had  given  the  dominant  tone  to  the  com- 
munity life  of  the  place,  and  many  of  those  who  had  more  recently 
made  their  homes  there  had  been  attracted  by  its  influence.  These, 
with  the  families  of  the  sturdy  pioneers,  who  had  opened  the  country 
to  settlement  in  the  previous  generation,  formed  a  population  of  a  high 
degree  of  force  and  vigor  which  has  ever  since  been  distinguished  for 
its  wide  influence  and  the  high  character  of  its  people.  Besides  the  one 
building  completed  and  occupied  by  the  University,  situated  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Davis  Street  and  Hinman  Avenue,  the  Garrett 
Biblical  Institute  (affiliated  with  the  University)  had  likewise  one 
building,  afterwards  known  as  Dempster  Hall,  completed  in  the  same 
year  that  the  University's  first  building  was  opened. 


*A.  more  complete  account  of  this  celebrated  case  can  be  found  in  "Chicago : 
Its  History  and  Its  Builders,"  Vol.  II,  p.  73. 

Page  Four 


THE  DATE  OF  MR.  LINCOLN'S  VISIT 

In  determining  the  date  on  which  Mr.  Lincoln  visited  Evanston,  I 
have  fixed  it  as  Thursday,  April  5,  1860.  In  an  article  published  in  the 
Century  Magazine  for  December,  1881,  by  Leonard  W.  Volk  (to  be 
referred  to  presently),  the  author  says  that  Mr.  Lincoln  went  to  Evans- 
ton  on  "Thursday."  He  says  in  another  place  that  the  visit  was  made 
"in  the  early  part  of  April."  There  is  no  conclusive  evidence  on  this 
point  to  be  obtained  either  from  Voile's  article,  or  from  any  of  those 
whose  recollections  we  shall  hereafter  refer  to. 

According  to  the  date  on  the  title  page  of  the  Chicago  Press  and 
Tribune  the  first  Thursday  in  that  month  was  on  the  5th.  If  the  visit 
had  been  made  a  week  later,  that  is,  on  the  12th,  it  would  still  have 
been  possible,  perhaps,  to  speak  of  it  as  having  taken  place  "in  the  early 
part  of  April."  It  seems  impossible,  however,  to  place  the  date  of  the 
visit  on  the  12th,  because  in  the  issue  of  the  Chicago  Press  and  Tribune 
of  the  13th,  of  that  month,  a  paragraph  is  quoted  from  a  Bloomington 
paper  stating  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  that  city.  It  seems  safe,  there- 
fore, to  set  the  date  of  the  visit  as  we  have  given  it,  namely,  Thursday, 
April  5th,  1860. 

THE  HOUSE  IN  WHICH  HE  SPENT  THE  NIGHT 

Mr.  Lincoln  visited  Evanston  upon  the  invitation  and  as  the  guest 
of  his  old  friend,  Julius  White,  who  afterwards  became  a  general  in  the 
Union  Army.  Mr.  White  at  that  time  was  a  member  of  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade  and  was  harbor  master.  He  lived  in  Evanston  in  a 
house  situated  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Ridge  Avenue  and  Church 
Street,  on  the  lot  where  Mr.  Richard  C.  Lake's  house  now  stands.  It 
was  in  this  house  that  Mr.  Lincoln  spent  the  night  on  the  occasion  of  his 
visit. 

The  house  was  built  by  Alexander  McDaniel  and  by  him  sold  to 
Rev.  Philo  Judson,  who  enlarged  it  and  occupied  it  for  a  time.  It 
was  a  two-story  house  with  a  horizontal  cornice,  the  roof  sloping  up- 
wards from  four  sides  to  a  short  ridge  at  the  top.  The  front  door  was 
in  the  middle  of  the  east  side  of  the  house  with  rooms  on  each  side  of 
the  hallway.  There  was  no  covered  porch,  simply  a  platform  with 
steps  descending  from  the  front  door. 

About  the  year  1884  this  house  was  moved  away  by  Mr.  Robert 
Hill  when  he  erected  his  residence  on  the  present  site  which  in  later 
years  has  become  the  home  of  Mr.  Lake.  When  the  house  was  moved 
it  was  separated  into  two  parts,  the  larger  part  being  taken  to  the  lot 
now  known  as  1227  Elmwood  Avenue,  adjoining  the  High  School  on 
the  south,  and  remodeled  into  a  comfortable  residence,  and  is  now 
occupied  by  Mr.  Albert  D.  Sanders.  It  does  not,  however,  at  all  re- 
semble the  house  in  its  original  form.  A  much  smaller  part  of  the 
original  house  was  moved  to  another  location. 

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Page  Six 


When  Mr.  Julius  White  (afterwards  General)  first  came  to  Evans- 
ton  to  live,  in  February,  1859,  he  took  possession  of  the  house  just  de- 
scribed ;  but  after  he  had  joined  the  army,  more  than  a  year  subsequent 
to  the  events  here  referred  to,  he  moved  his  family  into  a  smaller  house, 
a  story  and  a  half  cottage  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Asbury  Avenue 
and  Church  Street,  fronting  on  the  latter  street. 

In  later  years  the  story  and  a  half  house  referred  to  was  moved  to 
a  location  in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  now  known  as  2319  Prairie 
Avenue.  From  the  fact  that  General  White  once  lived  in  the  house 
arose  a  tradition  that  this  was  the  house  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  passed 
the  night,  and  later  occupants  have  taken  pride  in  relating  this  story, 
for  which  there  is  no  other  foundation  than  that  above  mentioned. 

OTHER  HOUSES  CLAIM  THE  HONOR 

It  is  remarkable  how  many  houses  we  have  here  in  Evanston  which 
lay  claim  to  the  honor  of  sheltering  Mr.  Lincoln  during  the  night  that 
he  spent  in  Evanston.  We  have  shown  that  the  house  on  Prairie  Ave- 
nue was  not  the  one,  though  often  claimed  as  such. 

Another  house  which  it  is  claimed  was  the  one  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  entertained  is  the  cottage  at  1513  Greenwood  Boulevard,  now 
occupied  by  Daniel  Devine  and  his  family.  Mrs.  Devine  stated  in  an 
interview  with  the  writer  that  at  the  time  Mr.  Lincoln  visited  Evans- 
ton  this  house  stood  a  short  distance  east  of  its  present  location,  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Greenwood  Boulevard  and  Asbury  Avenue.  She 
says  that  no  members  of  the  family  who  then  occupied  the  house  are 
now  living  in  Evanston,  and  that  a  number  of  tenants — a  dozen  or 
more — have  occupied  the  house  during  the  fifty  years  since  the  visit  of 
Mr.  Lincoln.  She  even  points  out  the  living  room  in  her  house  as  the 
room  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  received  the  guests.  Before  her  marriage 
tc  Mr.  Devine,  Mrs.  Devine  was  a  widow,  Mrs.  English  by  name,  and 
formerly  helped  in  housekeeping  duties  at  Dempster  Hall,  when  Mr. 
Langworthy  kept  a  boarding  house  for  students  there.  She  could  not 
recall  General  White  or  any  member  of  his  family,  and  could  not  re- 
member having  heard  his  name. 

A  house  known  as  the  old  Carroll  house,  formerly  at  1465  Elmwood 
Avenue,  was  demolished  by  the  city  authorities  in  August,  1909.  It 
was  supposed  by  some  that  this  house  was  the  one  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  entertained. 

Still  another  house,  the  one  situated  at  1028  Judson  Avenue,  is 
thought  by  some  to  be  the  house  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  entertained. 
As  is  well  known,  this  house  was  occupied  by  General  White  after  the 
war,  when  it  stood  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Davis  Street  and  Chicago 
Avenue,  and  by  him  moved  to  its  present  location  and  practically  re- 
built. The  fact  that  the  house  was  once  the  residence  of  General  White 
has  given  currency  to  this  belief,  and  It  is  often  pointed  out  by  residents 

Page  Seven 


ill  the  neighborhood  as  having  an  historical  interest  for  the  reason  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  once  a  guest  under  its  roof. 

The  honor,  however,  must  be  denied  to  all  those  mentioned  above, 
except  the  house  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Ridge  Avenue  and  Church 
Street,  as  described  in  the  previous  paragraph. 

One  way,  perhaps,  to  account  for  these  various  claims  would  be  to 
suppose  that  Mr.  Lincoln  visited  Evanston  more  than  once;  it  can  be 
positively  stated,  however,  that  the  distinguished  visitor  never  stayed 
but  one  night  in  Evanston.  It  is  well  known  that  traditions,  such  as 
those  referred  to,  grow  from  small  beginnings,  originating  with  half 
remembered  events  often  repeated  in  conversation,  and  at  length  have 
taken  on  the  character  of  positive  statements. 

MR.  VOLK'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

A  reference  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  visit  to  Evanston  is  found  in  an  article 
published  in  the  Century  Magazine  for  December,  1881,  by  Leonard 
W.  Volk,  the  sculptor.  Mr.  Volk  had  met  Mr.  Lincoln  during  the 
period  of  the  Lincoln-Douglas  debates  in  1858,  and  had  requested  him 
to  sit  for  a  bust.  Mr.  Lincoln  said  that  he  would  be  glad  to  do  so  at 
the  first  opportunity. 

Mr.  Volk,  in  the  course  of  his  article,  thus  relates: 

"I  did  not  see  him  again  for  nearly  two  years.  I  spent  most  of  the 
winter  of  1860  in  Washington,  finishing  a  statuette  of  Senator  Douglas, 
and  just  before  ic^ing  in  the  month  of  March,  I  called  upon  Mr. 
Douglas'  colleague  in  the  senate  from  Illinois  [Hon.  Lyman  Trumbull], 
and  asked  him  if  he  had  an  idea  as  i~c  -yho  would  be  the  probable  nominee 
of  the  Republican  party  for  president,  that  I  might  mc^el  a  bust  of  him 
in  advance.  He  replied  that  he  did  not  have  the  least  particle  of  an  idea 
who  he  would  be,  only  that  it  would  not  be  Judge  Douglas. 

"I  returned  to  Chicago,  and  got  my  studio  in  the  'Portland  block' 
in  order  and  ready  for  work,  and  began  to  consider  whose  bust  I  should 
first  begin  in  the  clay,  when  I  noticed  in  a  morning  paper  that  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  in  town — retained  as  one  of  the  counsel  in  the  'Sand  Bar' 
trial.  I  at  once  decided  to  remind  him  of  his  promise  to  sit  to  me,  made 
two  years  before.  I  found  him  in  the  United  States  District  court 
room  (in  a  building  known  at  the  time  as  the  'Larmon  block'),  his  feet 
on  the  edge  of  a  table,  and  his  long,  dark  hair  standing  out  at  every 
imaginable  angle.  He  was  surrounded  by  a  group  of  lawyers,  such  as 
James  F.  Joy,  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Thomas  Hoyne  and  others.  Mr. 
Arnold  obtained  his  attention  in  my  behalf,  when  he  instantly  arose  and 
met  me  outside  the  rail,  recognizing  me  at  once  with  his  usual  grip  of 
both  hands.  He  remembered  his  promise,  and  said,  in  answer  to  my 
question,  that  he  expected  to  be  detained  by  the  case  for  a  week.  He 
added: 

'  'I  shall  be  glad  to  give  you  the  sittings.  When  shall  I  come,  and 
how  long  will  you  need  me  each  time  ?' 

Page  Eight 


"  'Just  after  breakfast,  every  morning,  would,'  he  said,  'suit  him  the 
best,  and  he  could  remain  till  court  opened,  at  10  o'clock.'  I  answered 
that  I  would  be  ready  for  him  the  next  morning,  Thursday.  This  was 
in  the  early  part  of  April,  1860. 

'  'Very  well,  Mr.  Volk,  I  will  be  there,  and  I'll  go  to  a  barber  and 
have  my  hair  cut  before  I  come.' 

"I  requested  him  not  to  let  the  barber  cut  it  too  short  and  said  I 
would  rather  he  would  leave  it  as  it  was ;  but  to  this  he  would  not  con- 
sent. Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  he  ran  his  fingers  through  his  hair,  and 
said : 

WANTED  TO  BE  RELEASED 

"  'No,  I  cannot  come  tomorrow,  as  I  have  an  engagement  with  Mr. 

W to  go  to  Evanston  tomorrow  and  attend  an  entertainment ;  but 

I'd  rather  come,  and  sit  to  you  for  the  bust  than  go  there  and  meet  a 
lot  of  college  professors  and  others,  all  strangers  to  me.  And  I  will  be 

obliged  if  you  will  go  to  Mr.  W 's  office  now,  and  get  me  released 

from  the  engagement.     I  will  wait  here  till  you  come  back.' 

"So  off  I  posted,  but  Mr.  W would  not  release  him,  'because,' 

he  said,  'it  would  be  a  great  disappointment  to  the  people  he  had  in- 
vited.' Mr.  Lincoln  looked  quite  sorry  when  I  reported  to  him  the 
failure  of  my  mission. 

'  rWell,'  he  said,  'I  suppose  I  must  go,  but  I  will  come  to  you  Fri- 
day morning.' 

"He  was  there  promptly — indeed,  he  never  failed  to  be  on  time.  My 
studio  was  in  the  fifth  story,  and  there  were  no  elevators  in  those  days, 
and  I  soon  learned  to  distinguish  his  steps  on  the  stairs,  and  am  sure  he 
frequently  came  up  two,  if  not  three,  steps  at  a  stride.  When  he  sat 
down  the  first  time  in  that  hard,  wooden,  low-armed  chair  which  I  still 
possess,  and  which  has  been  occupied  by  Douglas,  Seward  and  Generals 
Grant  and  Dix,  he  said : 

"  'Mr.  Volk,  I  have  never  sat  before  to  sculptor  or  painter — only 
for  daguerreotypes  and  photographs.  What  shall  I  do?' 

"I  told  him  I  would  only  take  the  measurements  of  his  head  and 
shoulders  that  time,  and  next  morning,  Saturday,  I  would  make  a  cast 
of  his  face,  which  would  save  him  a  number  of  sittings.  He  stood  up 
against  the  wall,  and  I  made  a  mark  above  his  head,  and  then  measured 
up  to  it  from  the  floor,  and  said: 

"  'You  are  just  twelve  inches  taller  than  Judge  Douglas,  that  is,  just 
six  feet  one  inch.'  " 

In  the  above  extract,  which  is  printed  just  as  it  appeared  in  the 
Century  article,  the  name  of  Mr.  White  is  indicated  by  the  initial  W 
followed  by  a  blank  line. 

Al«o  it  is  to  be  noted  that  in  the  last  sentence  Mr.  Lincoln's  height 
is  eiven  as  six  feet  one  inch,  whereas  the  fact  was  that  he  was  six  feet 
four  inches  in  height.  This  was  an  error  either  on  the  part  of  the 
author  or  printer. 


HARVEY  B.  KURD 

Born  February  14,  1828;  died  January  20,  1906. 
He  was  a  resident  of  Evanston  for  fifty-two  years. 

MR.  KURD'S  DESCRIPTION 

When  the  day  arrived  for  Mr.  Lincoln  to  go  to  Evanston  he  was 
taken  in  charge  by  Mr.  Harvey  B.  Hurd,  who  had  been  designated  to 
act  as  his  escort.  Mr.  Hurd  has  left  on  record  an  account  of  this  jour- 
ney, which  is  as  follows: 

"On  his  return  from  his  stumping  tour  through  New  England  in 
the  spring  of  1 860,  bringing  back  with  him  the  fame  of  his  great  Cooper 
Institute  speech,  he  [Mr.  Lincoln]  was  given  a  reception  in  Evanston, 
at  the  home  of  my  then  next  door  neighbor,  General  Julius  White,  and 
it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  designated  to  escort  him  from  Chicago  to 
his  house.  On  the  way  Mr.  Lincoln  and  I  occupied  the  same  seat  in 
the  railway  car,  that  next  to  the  stove.  Putting  his  long  legs  up  behind 
the  stove  and  leaning  down  toward  me,  he  related  to  me  some  of  the 

Page  Ten 


more  amusing  episodes  in  his  New  England  tour,  such  as  he  thought  I 
would  recognize  as  characteristic  of  Yankeedom  (I  had  told  him  I  was 
a  native  of  Connecticut),  some  of  them  bringing  out  in  strong  light  the 
issues  of  the  campaign  and  how  he  had  presented  them. 

"Calling  to  mind  his  great  debate  with  Mr.  Douglas  and  how  he 
had  grown  in  popularity  all  over  the  country,  and  that  he  was  being 
talked  of  for  the  presidency,  I  could  not  help  a  passing  analysis  of  his 
characteristics.  The  way  he  impressed  me  at  that  time  was  well  summed 
up  by  a  countryman  at  another  time.  'Not  that  he  knew  it  all,  and 
that  I  knew  little  or  nothing,  but  that  he  and  I  were  two  good  fellows, 
well  met,  and  that  between  us  we  knew  lots.'  His  bearing  at  the  recep- 
tion, while  easy,  was  at  the  same  time  dignified  and  pleasing.  It  re- 
quired no  stretch  of  imagination  to  think  of  him  as  the  coming  president 
of  the  United  States.  He  inspired  in  all  a  desire  to  see  him  nominated 
and  elected  to  that  high  office.  There  was  no  lurking  doubt  as  to  his 
fitness." 

GENERAL  JULIUS  WHITE 

Gen.    Julius    White    (as    he 
soon  afterwards  became  known) 
deserves  some   further  mention 
in  this  place.     Soon  after  Mr. 
Lincoln's  inauguration  in  1861 
he  was   appointed   collector   of 
the  port  of  Chicago.    White  re- 
signed  this   office   later   in   the 
year    to    raise    a   regiment,    the 
Thirty-seventh    Illinois   Volun- 
teers, of  which  he  became  the 
colonel.     The  fact  that  he  re- 
signed an  office  paying  the  sal- 
ary  several    times   larger   than 
the  one  he  accepted  in  the  army 
while  having  a  large  family  to 
support  was  an  act  of  true  pat- 
riotism, and  should  be  remem- 
bered   to   his    credit.     He   was 
afterwards    promoted    to    be    a 
brigadier  general  and  after  the 
war   received    a   commission   of 
brevet  major  general.     Four  of 
the    commissions     received     by 
General     White     at     different 
times,   two  of  them  signed   by 
Abraham  Lincoln,  are  now  in 
the  possession  of  the  Evanston 
Historical  Society. 

Page  Eleven 


From  a  photograph  by  Brady,  New  York,  taken 
in  November,  1862. 

GENERAL  JULIUS  WHITE 

Born  September  29,  1816;  died  May  12,  1890. 
He  was  a  resident  of  Evanston  thirty-one  years. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  ARRIVAL 

Many  of  the  old  residents  of  Evanston  still  vividly  remember,  after 
a  lapse  of  half  a  century,  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  visit  here,  and 
the  accounts  which  are  here  gathered  are  mainly  compiled  from  their 
recollections  of  that  most  interesting  event.  They  are  not  all  living 
whose  testimony  is  here  given,  but  the  privilege  they  enjoyed  of  meeting 
and  grasping  the  hand  of  the  greatest  American  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury was  a  rare  one  and  the  occasion  forms  one  of  the  most  interesting 
episodes  in  our  history. 

On  Mr.  Lincoln's  arrival  in  Evanston  he  was  taken  for  a  carriage 
drive  about  the  village  by  Mr.  White  and  then  to  the  residence  of  the 
latter.  A  general  invitation  had  been  extended  to  the  people  to  come 
in  the  evening  and  shake  hands  with  the  distinguished  visitor.  It  was 
easy  to  spread  the  news  of  anything  of  the  kind  in  a  small  community 
such  as  Evanston  was  at  that  time,  and  the  people  were  quick  to  re- 
spond to  the  invitation.  The  house  was  well  filled  with  visitors  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  stood  in  front  of  the  fireplace  in  the  drawing  room  and 
conversed  with  the  people  as  they  arrived.  Many  did  not  enter  the 
house,  but  contented  themselves  with  standing  outside  on  the  lawn  and 
giving  vent  to  their  enthusiasm  by  blowing  horns,  singing  and  shout- 
ing, which  was  called  "serenading"  in  the  parlance  of  the  time.  These 
"doings"  were  naturally  followed  by  calls  for  a  speech,  a  request  which 
the  visitor  complied  with  by  appearing  on  the  front  steps  of  the  house 
and  addressing  the  people  assembled  on  the  lawn.  "I  have  a  sort  of 
general  recollection  of  his  speech,"  relates  Dr.  Henry  M.  Bannister, 
who  was  present.  "He  spoke  in  a  high,  clear  voice  explaining  his 
standpoint  in  politics  and  the  reasons  for  it,  making  a  special  point  that 
he  had  been  guided  by  his  sense  of  right."  There  was  a  general  hand- 
shaking and  exchange  of  greetings  usual  on  such  occasions.  Afterwards 
a  number  of  those  outside  went  into  the  house  and  were  presented  to 
the  visitor. 

DID  NOT  SPEAK  IN  CHURCH 

It  is  frequently  stated  that  Mr.  Lincoln  made  a  speech  in  the  old 
Methodist  church  which  at  that  time  stood  on  the  lot  where  the  Evans- 
ton  Public  Library  now  stands;  but  this  is  not  so.  Mr.  Lincoln  made 
no  speech  there.  None  of  those  whose  evidence  has  been  given  regard- 
ing his  visit  mentions  his  having  done  so,  and  it  was  vigorously  denied 
by  the  late  Mr.  Frederick  D.  Raymond,  who  was  an  indefatigable  in- 
vestigator in  the  field  of  local  history.  A  picture  of  the  old  Methodist 
church  was  printed  in  one  of  the  papers  some  years  ago  with  the  state- 
ment that  here  Mr.  Lincoln  made  a  speech  when  he  visited  Evanston, 
which  seemed  to  give  authority  for  the  belief  entertained  by  many  per- 
sons, but  it  may  be  positively  stated  that  no  speech  was  made  by  Mr. 
Lincoln  in  the  church. 

Twelve 


In  an  interview  with  William  Carney  in  1901,  Mr.  F.  D.  Ray- 
mond asked  him  about  his  recollections  of  the  Lincoln  visit  to  Evanston, 
which  he  said  he  remembered,  and  that  Mr.  Lincoln  made  a  speech 
irom  the  front  steps  of  General  White's  house.  Mr.  H.  E.  Lombard, 
now  living  in  Kansas,  was  a  resident  of  Evanston  at  that  time,  and, 
writing  in  regard  to  Lincoln's  visit,  says:  "A  number  of  us  serenaded 
him  and  he  made  us  a  talk  from  the  porch." 

"I  remember  as  though  it  was  but  yesterday,"  wrote  Mr.  Martin 
Mohler,  a  former  student  at  the  university,  in  an  article  printed  in  The 
Evanston  Index  in  1903,  "the  tall,  lanky  form  of  Lincoln  and  his  ex- 
pressive countenance  as  he  stood  shaking  hands  with  admiring  friends, 
while  a  stream  of  wit  and  humor,  and  story  and  laughter,  came  bubbling 
up  from  the  great  soul  within." 

MRS.  BANNISTER'S  ACCOUNT 

Mrs.  Emma  White  Bannister,  a  daughter  of  General  White,  wrote 
recently  giving  an  account  of  the  visit,  which  she  remembers  distinctly. 
"'Father  told  us  one  day  that  he  would  bring  Mr.  Lincoln  up  to  spend 
the  night,  adding,  'he  may  be  our  next  president.'  He  arrived  on  the 
t-vening  train  and  dined  with  us,  after  which  he  addressed  the  Evans- 
tonians  from  the  front  porch.  Word  had  been  sent  to  the  leading  citi- 
zens that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  speak  and  they  soon  assembled  in  goodly 
numbers  in  front  of  the  house.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  address  my 
father  invited  all  who  desired  to  come  in  and  meet  Mr.  Lincoln.  They 
surged  into  the  house,  were  introduced  by  father,  and  all  received  a 
cordial  greeting  and  handshake  from  Mr.  Lincoln.  My  father's  house 
at  that  time  was  full  of  children,  and  during  Mr.  Lincoln's  visit  he 
endeared  himself  to  us  all  by  his  individual  and  kindly  notice." 

MR.  PEARSONS'  STORY 

Mr. .  Henry  A.  Pearsons'  memories  of  the  occasion  are  extremely 
interesting.  At  a  banquet  of  the  Men's  Club  at  the  First  Methodist 
church  in  February,  1906,  he  spoke  as  follows: 

"Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  Evanston  in  1860,  soon  after  he  began  to 
acquire  a  national  reputation  and  had  been  mentioned  as  the  man  whom 
Illinois  would  bring  out  as  a  candidate  for  president.  Evanston  was 
then  only  a  village  of  some  1,200  inhabitants,  and,  of  course,  all  who 
could  get  there  went  to  the  house  of  Julius  White  to  meet  the  distin- 
guished guest,  we  boys  to  cheer  and  make  a  welcoming  noise  and  our 
elders  to  shake  his  hand.  I  have  a  photograph  of  him  taken  in  1858, 
v/hich  pictures  him  as  I  remember  him.  The  characteristics  which  I 
remember  most  distinctly  were  the  pleasant  smile  and  kindly  greeting 
he  gave  us,  the  cheerful  speech  and  apt  words  of  his  address,  the  ex- 
ceeding tallness  of  the  man,  and  the  awkward  way  he  had  of  turning 
himself  one  way  or  the  other  and  bending  his  knees  a  little  when  em- 

Page  Thirteen 


phasizing  a  point  or  coming  to  a  climax.  A  really  good  quartet,  led 
by  our  long-time  friend  and  fellow  citizen,  Charles  G.  Avars,  called 
for  Lincoln's  special  commendation ;  and  I  recall  how  he  put  his  arms 
around  Ayars'  shoulders,  and  said:  'Young  man,  I  wish  I  could  sing 
as  well  as  you.  Unfortunately  I  know  only  two  tunes,  one  is  "Old 
Hundred,"  and  the  other  isn't.'  Mr.  J.  Watson  Ludlam  (recently  de- 
ceased) was  then,  without  doubt,  the  tallest  citizen  of  Evanston,  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  stood  up  against  him,  back  to  back,  to  see  which  was  the 
taller."  Mr.  Pearsons  on  several  occasions  afterwards,  while  an  officer 
of  the  Eighth  Illinois  cavalry,  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  at  reviews,  arid  was 
one  of  the  guard  of  honor  at  the  time  his  body  lay  in  state  in  the 
Capitol  at  Washington. 

MR.  LUDLAM 's  STORY 

Only  a  short  time  before  his  death  in  the  fall  of  1908,  Major 
James  D.  Ludlam  wrote  his  recollections  of  the  visit,  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Frank  R.  Grover,  to  whom  he  had  promised  to  furnish  the  details 
for  the  records  of  the  Evanston  Historical  Society.  "In  redeeming  my 
promise  to  you,"  he  writes,  "to  furnish  my  recollections  of  Abraham 
Lincoln's  visit  to  Evanston,  I  send  the  following,  only  reminding  you 
that  fifty  years  is  a  long  time  for  one's  memory  to  be  exactly  accurate." 
He  said  he  received  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Julius  White,  "who  lived,  I 
think,  in  the  house  built  by  Mr.  Judson  over  on  what  we  then  called 
the  ridge."  He  met  there  "some  twenty  or  thirty  friends,"  some  of 
whom  he  mentions  by  name:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  L.  Beveridge,  Rev. 
Philo  Judson,  Harvey  B.  Hurd,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N.  P.  Iglehart,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  John  A.  Pearsons,  Mrs.  Appleton,  Miss  Mattie  Stewart  and 
Miss  Isabel  Stewart.  "Mr.  Hurd  led  the  conversation  principally  with 
the  help  of  Mr.  Beveridge  at  the  start,  but  soon  Mr.  Lincoln  had  full- 
control,  and  in  conversation  and  story  telling  captured  the  whole  com- 
pany." 

Later  in  the  evening  some  one  proposed  having  some  music,  and 
Miss  Isabel  Stewart  was  invited  to  play  the  piano,  which  she  did  in  a 
very  delightful  manner.  Do  not  let  the  young  readers  of  this  sketch 
imagine  the  young  lady  seated  at  an  "upright,"  for  pianos  of  that  form 
were  not  made  in  those  days.  Square  pianos  were  in  use  and  the  one 
in  Mr.  White's  house  was  probably  of  this  pattern,  the  kind  we  used 
to  call  "megatheriums,"  which  we  used  to  behold  with  awe  and  ad- 
miration, including  the  player. 

Mr.  Lincoln  then  asked  for  some  vocal  music  and  Mr.  J.  D.  Lud- 
lam was  invited  to  sing.  This  he  consented  to  do  on  condition  that 
some  one  would  play  for  him.  He  was  then  introduced  to  the  young 
lady  at  the  piano,  whom  he  did  not  know  before,  and  after  a  song  or- 
two  the  singing  became  general.  It  should  be  noted  here  that  this  in- 
troduction to  the  young  lady,  Miss  Isabel  Stewart,  was  more  important 
in  its  results  than  seems  at  first  sight,  for  in  about  a  year  after  that 

Page  Fourteen 


the  singer  and  the  player  were  married.     Thus  the  Lincoln  visit  has  a 
peculiar  interest  as  the  starting  point  of  a  romance. 

MEASURED  WITH  WATSON  LUDLAM 

James  D.  Ludlam  and  J.  Watson  Ludlam  were  brothers,  both  tall 
men,  the  latter  the  taller  of  the  two;  and  with  them  was  John  L.  Bev- 
eridge  who  was  over  six  feet  in  height.  There  was  another  tall  man 
present  by  the  name  of  Homer  Curtice,  a  conductor  on  the  Chicago 
and  Milwaukee  Railroad,  the  name  by  which  the  present  Chicago  and 
Northwestern  Railway  was  then  known.  Poor  Curtice  was  killed  by 
the  cars  up  near  Kenosha  some  years  later. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  the  habit  of  taking  notice  of  men  of  unusual 
stature,  as  is  recalled  by  an  incident  occurring  a  few  weeks  later  than 
the  events  of  which  we  are  here  writing.  It  is  related,  in  Holland's 
"Life  of  Lincoln,"  that  when  Judge  William  D.  Kelley  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, himself  a  man  nearly  as  tall  as  Mr.  Lincoln,  called  on  him  at 
Springfield  at  the  head  of  a  committee  to  notify  him  of  his  nomination, 
Mr.  Lincoln,  after  the  introductions  had  taken  place,  inquired,  "What 
is  your  height,  Judge?"  "Six  feet,  three,"  replied  the  Judge;  "what 
is  yours,  Mr.  Lincoln?"  "Six  feet,  four,"  responded  Mr.  Lincoln. 
"Then,  sir,"  said  the  Judge,  "Pennsylvania  bows  to  Illinois.  My  dear 
man,"  he  continued,  "for  years  my  heart  has  been  aching  for  a  presi- 
dent that  I  could  look  up  to,  and  I've  found  him  at  last, — in  the  land 
that  we  thought  there  were  none  but  Little  Giants/' 

It  was  not  strange  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  having  this  habit  of  observa- 
tion, should  notice  the  presence  of  so  many  unusually  tall  men,  includ- 
ing himself,  in  the  rooms  of  Mr.  White's  house.  He  proposed  that 
they  should  measure  up  and  compare  their  heights.  This  was  done 
accordingly,  and  it  was  found  that  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  J.  Watson 
Ludlam  were  exactly  the  same  height,  namely,  six  feet  and  four  inches. 
The  company  remained  until  quite  a  late  hour,  and  at  length  dispersed 
to  their  homes  throughout  the  village. 

AN  INTERESTING  SEQUEL 

The  sequel  to  Major  Ludlam's  story  is  very  interesting.  During 
the  following  year  events  succeeded  each  other  with  startling  rapidity. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  and  elected  president,  and  the  tremendous 
drama  of  the  Civil  war  had  opened.  With  many  other  young  men  from 
Evanston  J.  D.  Ludlam  had  joined  the  army  of  the  Union,  and  became 
an  officer  (finally  major)  in  the  Eighth  Illinois  cavalry.  This  was 
the  only  Illinois  regiment  in  the  eastern  army  in  the  early  part  of  the 
war  and  Mr.  Lincoln  came  out  to  their  encampment  near  Washington 
to  visit  them,  and  made  a  short  speech  to  "his  boys,"  as  he  called  them. 
He  recognized  Ludlam  at  once  and  asked  after  Miss  Stewart,  who  had 
furnished  the  delightful  music  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Evanston, 

Page  Fifteen 


and  invited  him  to  call  at  the  White  House.  He  made  calls  several 
times,  and  after  lunch  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  one  day,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln asked  him  to  sing  for  Mrs.  Lincoln  the  same  songs  which  he  sang 
when  he  visited  Mr.  White's  house  in  Evanston,  a  request  with  which 
he  complied.  This  echo  of  the  Lincoln  visit  to  Evanston,  and  the 
romance  that  had  its  beginning  at  that  time,  throws  a  golden  haze  of 
sentiment  over  the  event  we  have  been  describing,  and  heightens  the 
interest  that  the  episode  otherwise  possesses  for  all  who  take  a  pride  in 
our  Evanston  annals. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  visit  to  Evanston  was  made  when  he  had  reached 
a  period  in  his  life  when  all  was  fair.  He  was  at  the  height  of  his 
fame  as  the  most  distinguished  political  orator  of  his  time,  he  had  be- 
come the  rising  hope  of  the  new  Republican  party,  and  was  often  men- 
tioned as  a  possible  presidential  candidate.  The  law  case,  which  had 
required  his  presence  in  Chicago  for  the  preceding  two  weeks,  had  just 
been  decided  (the  day  before)  in  favor  of  his  clients.  He  was  in  the 
full  maturity  of  his  manhood,  and  he  was  probably  as  near  "care  free" 
as  he  had  ever  been  in  his  life. 

Six  weeks  afterwards  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  the  presi- 
dency, and  in  the  following  November  was  elected  to  that  high  office. 
He  evidently  did  not  forget  his  Evanston  friends  and  his  visit  among 
them,  for  soon  after  he  became  president  he  began  to  show  his  appre- 
ciation of  the  friends  he  met  here.  White  and  Beveridge  became  gen- 
erals in  the  Union  Army,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  homely  songs  and 
good  cheer  of  the  house  in  Evanston,  where  Mr.  Lincoln  was  so  pleas- 
antly entertained,  were  repeated  at  the  White  House  in  Washington. 


Page  Sixteen 


&peecfj 

19,  1863 


Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers 
brought  forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  con- 
ceived in  Liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition 
that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  Civil  War,  test- 
ing whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived 
and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on 
a  great  battlefield  of  that  war.  We  have  come  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting- 
place  for  those  who  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation 
might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that 
we  should  do  this. 

But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate — we 
cannot  consecrate — we  cannot  hallow — this  ground. 
The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here, 
have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add 
or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note  or  long  re- 
member what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget 
what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather, 
to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work  which 
they,  who  fought  here,  have  thus  far  so  nobly  ad- 
vanced. It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to 
the  great  task  remaining  before  us — that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that 
cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these 
dead  shall  have  not  died  in  vain;  that  this  nation, 
under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom ;  and 
that  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for 
the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 


